You Can't Escape My Love
by RGAP-48
Summary: -COMPLETE- Lucas leaves Salem to avoid being the Salem Stalker's next victim. When he returns to Salem, he gives everyone the surprise of their lives. Sami continues to try and fight off her feelings for Lucas. (Lumi, Rimi, Bricole)
1. Here's How It Goes

You Can't Escape My Love  


  
  


Chapter One  


  
  


Lucas walked across the deserted parking lot, heading for his car so that he could go home after the long wait at the hospital. Sami had felt so guilty about accusing Tony of being the killer when he was innocent that she had wanted to stay at the hospital to see if he was going to be okay. Now that Tony's condition was finally stabilized, Lucas could go home. Sami and Will were getting a ride from Marlena. After their kiss in the clown car, Sami had acted awkward around him, actually she acted more confused than anything else. Like she didn't know what she wanted anymore.  
  
He had parked in the back lot of the hospital, where not many cars were. The front parking lot was full of cars, everyone was anxious to hear the news about Tony. For a man who seemed to have so many enemies, a lot of people seemed very concerned about him. But maybe it was just because they didn't want to see this killer win. They didn't want him to hurt any more people, not even the Dimera's.  
  
There was a man standing in front of the car next to Lucas'. Lucas squinted to make out his form in the dim light from the street-lamps, the figure of the man vaguely familiar. The man slammed his trunk shut and turned around to face Lucas. Lucas realized who the man was and nodded a greeting.  
  
"I didn't expect to see you here. When did you arrive back in Salem?" Lucas asked politely.  
  
The man smiled thinly, "A few days ago." the man averted his gaze, checking to see if anyone else was around, "Listen, I'd really appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone I'm back yet. I want it to be a surprise."  
  
Lucas nodded, "I can understand that." he replied, "I won't tell anyone." the truth was, Lucas didn't care one way or another if the people of Salem knew that he was back. He had enough problems of his own to deal with so he might as well forget ever seeing him and focus on his currents dilemma with Sami.  
  
"Thank you." the man nodded gratefully, "I guess I'll see you around then."  
  
"I guess so." Lucas responded absentmindedly, his mind already on other things. He unlocked his car and ducked inside. As he started the drive home, his thoughts drifted back to Sami, as they often did. He still couldn't get her words out of his head. First she had apologized about throwing knives at Kate and for locking him in that port-a-potty. Then, when they were in that clown car she had actually seemed to act like she cared about him.  
  
When he had tried to leave the clown car to go warn the other people at the circus that she tiger was on the loose, she had been afraid that she would lose him and had freaked out. She told him not to go and he asked her what difference it made to her if he lived or died. She hadn't answered and he had tried to leave.  
  
He remembered the way she had grabbed his arm and clung to it desperately, "You can't leave because I love you." she had said. When Lucas asked her what she had just said, she had told him that she said that she that he couldn't leave because Will loved him. But he knew that she really said that she loved him. Maybe she had been resorting to desperate measures to keep Will from losing his father but he didn't want to believe that was why she had said it.  
  
Before leaving the clown car, he had kissed her. And she had kissed him back. If he wasn't sure of anything else, he was sure of that. He just didn't know what it meant.  
  
Trying to push the thoughts out of his mind, he put all his concentration into the road as he drove straight ahead, towards his apartment.  


  
  


The next morning, Sami came into his apartment and told him that she had gotten a call from Belle. Mimi and Rex had been staying at the hospital and had called Belle and told her that Tony Dimera was dead. Someone had poisoned his IV sometime the night before.  
  
  
It was a week after Tony's death and Sami and Lucas were sitting in a booth at the Brady Pub, near the booth Rex and Mimi were sitting in. Sami watched Rex fiddle with a fork, a drawn and miserable expression darkening his rugged features.  
  
"According to Belle, Rex is taking this really hard." Sami confided in Lucas, her eyes glimmering with something that looked very close to sympathy, "I can't blame him. I mean, I am still hurting so much over losing my dad. It's like Rex has lost two dads. I don't know how he can handle it at all."  
  
Lucas murmured in agreement, "You remember Bart, don't you?" Sami nodded, "He really looked up to Tony and I heard he's really upset. He's a trucker now."  
  
"A what?" Sami asked incredulously.  
  
"A trucker." Lucas repeated, "I'm not kidding. I saw him in his truck a couple days ago. He was wearing this plaid flannel jacket and everything. I don't think he's handling Tony's death very well."  
  
"Well, that's what happens when you get too attached to your boss." Sami stated, rolling her eyes, "I'm glad I'll never have to worry about that."  
  
Lucas and Sami continued talking while Mimi tried to convince Rex to order something to eat.  
  
"You have to eat something, Rex." Mimi chided gently, "You'll waste away to nothing if you don't."  
  
"Maybe I don't care anymore." Rex shook his head sadly, "I can't believe that they're all dead, Mimi. Cassie's gone, Roman's gone and Tony's gone. Do you have any idea how much I hate this? Just when I had the chance to bond with my real father, he died and the man I thought of as my father ended up in jail for Roman's murder when he was innocent. Then Cassie and Tony were murdered-" Rex cut himself off, "I feel like I've lost all the family I've ever known."  
  
"You haven't Rex." Mimi consoled him, "There are still so many people that care about you."  
  
"Don't you get it?" Rex's eyes stung from trying to keep himself from crying. He wouldn't let himself cry, he just couldn't, "Tony treated me like his son all along, even when I went to jail for the serial killings, even when he found out he wasn't my real father. Then, when he went to jail, I turned my back on him. I betrayed the man who did nothing but love me no matter how bad things got for me. And Cassie was always there for me. We were supposed to always be there for each other and now she's gone. I never even got the chance to know Roman."  
  
"I feel horrible for you." Mimi squeezed his hand comfortingly, "But you still have Kate and Lucas and Phillip. They're your family too. And who knows, maybe someday you'll even start getting along with Sami. Besides, even if none of them were around, I'd still be here. I love you, Rex, and I'm never going to leave you."  
  
Rex tried his best to smile, "Thank you, Mimi. If it weren't for you, I don't think I'd be able to get through this at all."  
  
Mimi smiled back, "You're welcome. Now, you're going to listen to me and order something to eat before I have to order for you." she instructed him and Rex finally picked up the menu and began scanning over the items on it.  
  
At another nearby table, Bo took a drink of his coffee while reading the newspaper. Hope was glad he had returned from his trip to find Billie. They had eventually found her body in a creek. Bo was angry that Billie wouldn't be able to help discover the killer's identity but he had become even more determined to discover who was behind all the killings. His PDA beeped and he set down the cup of coffee to take it out of his pocket. His eyes darkened when he saw the words that lit up the tiny screen. Hope leaned across the table so that she could see the message.  
  
The letters was a bright red colour, lighting up the black screen behind it. The message read 'And the eighth victim will be....'. Bo let out an impatient huff as the letters slowly faded away.  
  
"Stop keeping us in suspense." Bo muttered, becoming more agitated with each passing second. The letters completely faded and a picture of Lucas took over the screen. Hope's eyes widened at the sight of her cousin's picture.

"It can't be." Hope said in a near whisper, "Why?" she stared straight at the back of Lucas' head and Bo whirled around and did the same.  
Sami noticed Bo and Hope staring at Lucas and frowned, "Can we help you with something?" she asked. Lucas turned around and Bo lowered his gaze.  
  
"We, uh, we got another message from the killer." Bo stuttered, not knowing how to tell Lucas that he was the next target on a relentless killer's list. Ever since the killer had began leaving these messages on the PDA, it never got any easier to break the news to someone that they were the next target.  
  
"And?" Sami prompted him. Bo looked to his wife for help and Hope understood that he couldn't bring himself to tell Lucas the news.  
  
"Lucas, the killer sent us a message saying that you would be their eighth victim." Hope broke the silence and she looked past Lucas and watched Sami's eyes grow wide with shock.  
  
"What are you talking about?" Lucas demanded, "What would the killer want with me? I don't know anything. There has to be a mistake."  
  
"There's no mistake." Bo said grimly, "You must have seen or heard something that gives the killer the idea that you know who they are."  
  
Sami stood up abruptly, "Lucas, let's go." she said good-bye to her aunt and uncle quickly and ushered Lucas out of the restaurant. Lucas drove them back to the apartment building in almost complete silence. He was still in shock at the idea of being the killer's next target.  
  
They went up to Sami's apartment and Lucas collapsed onto the couch. Sami sat down next to him, fingering strands of her long blonde hair nervously.  
  
"Lucas, you have to leave Salem right away." she blurted out.  
  
"Why?" he questioned, "I can't just pick up and leave. What about Will?"  
  
"I was going to talk to you about that." Sami smoothed out an imaginary wrinkle on her skirt, "I think it would be best if we sent Will away to a boarding school somewhere far away from Salem. At least for the time being."  
  
"You're kidding, right?" Lucas stared at her in disbelief.  
  
"It would be for the best." Sami said defensively, "While a killer is running around in Salem, I don't want him here. He watched a tiger practically rip a man to shreds for Christ's sake and I don't want him exposed to that kind of thing anymore. Besides, you were right about me not being in the best emotional state. Maybe he needs to leave for a while until I can get things straightened out. I want to be a good example for him."  
  
Lucas nodded in agreement, "You have a good point. And money isn't an issue because our moms would be glad to help pay for it. I hope Will doesn't argue."  
  
"I'm going to miss him so much." Sami admitted, "But I know he'll understand. We're only doing this to keep him safe. And you have to get out of Salem as soon as possible. Tonight, if you can."  
  
"What the hell are you trying to do, Sami?" Lucas began to get angry at her demands, "Is this your way of getting rid of me? Do you want me gone that badly?"  
  
"I'm not doing this to get rid of you." Sami said softly, "It's the only way, I can be sure I'm not going to lose you."  
  
Lucas softened, "If you don't want to lose me, then come with me. Leave Salem with me. Marlena and my mom can help get Will ready to go to the boarding school. We can get out of here in a matter of days."  
  
Sami flipped her hair over her shoulder and avoided his gaze, "I'm sorry. But I can't go with you." the words came out soft and lacking conviction. The truth was, she did want to go with him. That was the problem. With everything going on, she was getting confused. She started feeling things that she never felt before. At least, things she had never felt before where Lucas was concerned. That scared her. She didn't want to let her guard down, she did not want to fall for Lucas Roberts. Maybe his leaving would help her sort things out. Then she would be able to see that she wasn't really falling for him, she was just acting really out of character.  
  
She had told him she had loved him that day in the clown car. It had just slipped out, the words seemed to come out of nowhere. She had been so afraid that the tiger was going to kill him if he left the car and she lost control. Then he had kissed her and she hadn't been able to stop herself from kissing him back.  
Lucas' silence seemed to stretch on for an eternity, "Fine. I don't know what I was thinking. I'll leave as soon as I get my things together." he got up and was about to leave her apartment.  
  
"Lucas?" she called after him and he turned back around, his expression hopeful.  
  
"Please don't email, call or write to anyone in Salem." she said, "The killer is smart and if you make contact with someone in Salem, the killer might be able to track you down."  
  
He realized she was breaking off all contact with him and tried not to look like it affected him. But it did and he knew that she could see it. Sami took one look at the hurt expression in his dark eyes and wanted to run up to him and wrap her arms around him, telling him how badly she wanted to leave Salem with him. But she clenched her fists, her nails digging deep into her palms. She had to stop feeling this way, she had to be strong. But after he left the apartment, it finally sunk in. Unless, she went after him, which she wouldn't do, he was gone. And she didn't know when she would see him again. She brought a pillow up to her face to muffle a sob, trying to fight off the feeling of loss that overwhelmed her.


	2. You And Me

Chapter Two  


  
  


It was already February but the remaining weeks left of winter seemed to stretch on endlessly in front of Sami. The spring wasn't looking any better, considering the Salem PD hadn't gotten any farther in the case of the Salem Stalker. If they kept this up, Lucas would never be able to come back. Lucas. Thinking about him brought sharp pangs of regret that never completely subsided back up to surface. She wished she could have gone with him when she had the chance. But now he was gone and Will was gone too.  
  
Every day that passed without Lucas around, Sami became more and more convinced that she had made a mistake. This wasn't the way it was supposed to work. Lucas was gone, it was supposed to be like he was out of sight and out of mind. But he wasn't. In fact, ever day that went by without him around made her crave his touch, his voice, everything about him, even more.  
  
She couldn't deny that she missed both him and Will so much that it hurt sometimes. But with Lucas, the longings to have him back in Salem were extremely unsettling. She missed falling asleep in his arms, listening to the slow, steady beat of his chest sounding into her ear. She missed feeling his arms wrapped around her in the late hours of the night, she missed the warmth emanating from his body, making her feel more alive and more real than she had ever felt before.  
  
There was no way she could deny the way she felt anymore. Not after the iciness had enveloped her as she lay in her bed at night alone, the cold feeling engulfing her entire body because she knew that Lucas wasn't across the hall to run to when things got bad anymore. She had realized just a little too late how much Lucas actually meant to her. She thought she had just been confused but the truth was, she had been right about what she wanted all along.  
  
That pissed her off. Damn Lucas. Damn him for making her want him, for making her need him. Damn him for holding her at night and making her feel like she actually mattered to someone. Damn him for always being around when she needed a shoulder to cry on, damn him for being so irresistible. And damn him for walking out of her life. She knew that she was the one who had actually screwed up. She had the chance to go with him and she hadn't taken it. So her current state of loneliness was no one fault's but her own.  
  
Sami sat at the Java Caféé, not even noticing how cold it had gotten. She took a long sip of the hot chocolate, it providing the temporary warmth she felt like she needed now that Lucas was gone. It was going to be another long day.  
  
She was so wrapped up in her own thoughts that it took her a minute to notice that Nicole had sat down at her table and was watching her expectantly. Sami sighed loudly, wondering how much worse the day was going to get. The last person she wanted to deal with was Nicole Kiriakas.  
  
"You were just the person I was looking for." Nicole told her, a grin lighting up her face, "I have something that I think you will find very interesting."  
  
Sami decided to play along for the time being, for lack of something better to do, "Really? Like what?"  
  
"Like this." Nicole pulled something out of her purse with flourish. Sami stared at the tape in her hands, the tape with her name written across the top in Victor's writing. Her eyes widened and she stared up at Nicole in shock, wondering if the tape could be what she thought it was.  
  
"Is it-" Sami didn't allow herself to finish the sentence, not wanting to get her hopes up.  
  
"Yup." Nicole smiled smugly, "I was sneaking around the mansion and I found it in Victor's desk drawer. This is the tape of you admitting that Lucas didn't hit Will. And it is no longer in Victor's hands."  
  
"What did you want with that thing?" Sami questioned, her fingers itching to snatch the tape out of Nicole's hands.  
  
"I was actually looking for something else." Nicole extended her arm and dropped the tape in front of Sami, "I found this and figured that I might as well give it to you. But you owe me now."  
"I owe you?" Sami repeated suspiciously, "What are you saying?"  
  
"I'm saying that you have to help me get Brady." Nicole elaborated, "If anyone can come up with a scheme to get him to love me, it's you. I was getting help from someone else in exchange for me helping them get this other guy that they were in love with. Then they got fed up with me and said they would get this guy their own way. Not that it matters, you could probably do a better job of helping me out than she could."  
  
"I don't want to help you." Sami retorted, slipping the tape into her own purse before Nicole could take it back, "All you do is break people's hearts. Like my brother and-" Sami stopped herself and thought about the situation for a second, "Wait a minute, why should I care if you break Brady's heart? It's not like I really give a rat's ass about what happens to him. I guess helping you is the least I can do after you got this tape away from Victor."  
  
"Thanks for the vote of confidence." Nicole said sarcastically, "Look, Sami, I'm sorry about what happened with your brother. I never meant to hurt him and I don't intend to hurt Brady either. I love him."  
  
"Sure." Sami replied, "I'm already helping you get Brady but don't expect me to believe that you love anyone but yourself." Sami drowned out Nicole's response with her own thoughts. She didn't know how she was going to work up the energy and the patience for working with Nicole. But it wasn't like she had anything better to do and it might even help her get her mind off Lucas.  
  
  
Late that night, Lucas stopped at a gas sation just outside Chicago. He didn't know where he was going, only that he would get as far away from Salem as he could. Far enough away from Salem to forget about Sami. Life without her by his side was something foreign to him, he had gotten so used to her nearness that he felt as if nothing was the same now that she wasn't around.  
  
As he filled up his car with gas, a figure across the road noticed him leaning over his car. One hand gripped the handle of the motorcycle beside her as she frowned in the man's direction.  
  
"What is he doing here?" she whispered to herself. A pair of strong arms encircled her small waist and the man began nuzzling her neck affectionately.  
  
"What's wrong, baby?" he asked, noticing the confused, distracted expression on her face.  
  
"I know him." she told the man, "That's Lucas Roberts. I don't know why he's here. But I have to talk to him. Go get him for me, okay?"  
  
"What am I, your slave?" his breath tickled her neck as he spoke teasingly. She leaned back so that she was looking at him.  
  
"In more ways than one." she replied, winking at him, "I'd go get him myself but he'd freak out. And I really need to know what's going on back in Salem."  
  
The man let out a reluctant groan. He called over Josh and Kaleb, two of their friends from the group of motorcyclists. He gave the two men instructions and he watched as they crept across the street, trying to avoid being seen by Lucas.  
  
She elbowed the man embracing her in the ribs, "I told you to go get him, not to get two of your minions to do it for you." she scolded him. He shrugged and went back to kissing her neck.  
  
Lucas had just stepped out of the gas station and noticed the two black men standing near his car. Their presence made him feel a little bit nervous but he stepped up to his car anyway. To his alarm, the two men went right over to him. They took hold of his arms and he turned around to see the only worker at the gas station that night with her back turned to him, talking to someone on the phone. She wasn't going to be any help.  
  
He tried to kicking and moving his arms around to escape their grasp. His foot managed to make contact with one of their knees and the man swore loudly.  
"Screw this." Lucas heard him mutter and then the man put a damp rag over Lucas' mouth. Lucas inhaled the scent of chloroform and despite his efforts not to inhale, he could feel himself slowly losing consciousness.


	3. Up And Down

Chapter Three

  
  


Author's Note: I don't own Richard, unfortunately. This is a slight crossover from Murder By Numbers, only in my story, Richard escapes and goes on the run before the police can try and catch him.

  
  


Lucas was eventually brought back into consciousness by the loud noises that surrounded him. He opened his eyes to find himself in a room full of people he had never seen before. Most of them were dressed in dark clothes and were all yelling above the noise of the loud, pulsating music. Lucas counted about twelve guys but only three girls. Most of them were passing around cans of beer while others passed around joints. The sweet scent of pot mingled with the smell of cigarette smoke. Then he noticed the two men that had grabbed him and knocked him unconsciousness with that chloroform.

He started to get off the couch when one of the guys sitting nearby him noticed he was awake. The man had dirty blonde hair with shrewd blue eyes. A lit cigarette was clenched between two rows of straight, white teeth. He pulled the cigarette out of his mouth and yelled at the group of people to turn off the music.

A black man sitting near the music pressed the off button and turned to grin at Lucas, "You finally decided to wake up?"

Lucas straightened up on the couch, "What the hell do you think you're doing? What do you want with me?" he was unable to keep the fear from creeping into his voice. A small part of him wondered if they worked for the killer. He quickly decided they couldn't, they would have killed him already if they did.

"Good going." a wry voice came from behind him, "I said to go get him so I could talk to him, not scare the shit out of him in the process." Lucas' eyebrows shot up when he heard the familiar voice. It sounded like her but it couldn't be her. Slowly he turned around and his eyebrows shot up another inch when he saw who it was.

"Cassie?" he looked at her in amazement, "But you're supposed to be-"

"Dead?" she finished for him, going over and plunking herself down on the blond guy's lap, "I know. I faked it so that everyone would stop accusing my brother and my dad of murder. I knew they didn't do it, so I pretended I knew who the killer was and then Bart helped me stage my death. After that I left Salem."

"Then she met me and that was when the fun started." the blond guy spoke up. Lucas had been watching Cassie's mouth move and did another double-take.

"Did you get your tongue pierced?" he asked in amazement. In response, she stuck out her tongue to reveal what was definitely a tongue ring.

"It glows in the dark too." she added triumphantly, then changed the subject, "So, how is everything going back in Salem? How's Rex? And my daddy?"

Lucas shifted uncomfortably, not knowing how to answer the questions. First of all, he didn't know if she meant Tony or Roman by the last question and he didn't really want to tell her that they were both dead. At least, not in front of twenty people, half of which were either drunk or high.

"Why don't we talk about it later? You still haven't introduced me to all these people." Lucas reminded her, trying to make her forget her last questions. It seemed to work.

"That's right." she smiled at the blond guy, "This is Richard Hayward. The two over there that kidnapped you are Josh and Kaleb." she began moving her arm and pointing to everyone else, "Ryan, Jesse, Trent, Zack, Adam, Erik, Shaun, Dave, Freddy, Dan, Tyler and Bruce. The three girls over there are Carla, Nina and Kari." she finished, "Everyone, this is Lucas Roberts."

Everyone sort of murmured a greeting. The one Cassie had pointed out as Jason, who was wearing glasses and grinning like an idiot said, "You two don't look like brother and sister."

"No, he's too much better looking than Cassie." Carla responded, winking at Lucas flirtatiously. Lucas saw Cassie give the black woman a dirty look out of the corner of his eye. He had only seen Carla and Cassie interact once and he could already tell that they didn't get along. He wondered what had caused such a bad relationship between the two of them. He then took one look about the way Carla was looking at Richard and decided that he could probably guess where all the animosity was coming from.

"Where were you going anyway?" Adam questioned, breaking the tension between Cassie and Carla.

"I wasn't really going anywhere in particular." Lucas answered, "I just left Salem because there's a serial killer on the loose and they wanted to kill me next. Someone told me that leaving Salem was the only way I could avoid becoming the next victim."

"So, Lucas." Richard spoke up, flicking some ashes into an empty glass sitting beside him, "Since you're Cassie's brother and since we like Cassie so much, we were wondering if you wanted to come with us."

"Come with you?" Lucas repeated blankly.

Cassie began to explain, "He wants to know if you want to become part of our motorcycle gang, at least until it's safe for you to go back to Salem."

"It's a hell of a trip man." Josh broke in, a huge grin on his face similar to Jason's, "Trade in your car and get a bike. There's nothing you can do with a car that you can't do with a motorcycle."

"Actually, there is one thing." his friend, Kaleb, countered, "But you could probably do that on a motorcycle too, if you had enough balance."

Cassie shook her head and tried not to laugh, "Do you want to come with us?" Cassie asked him again and everyone in the room fell silent as they waited for him to answer.

Lucas thought about it for a minute, "I guess so." he said finally and Cassie broke into a smile.

"Great." Cassie and Lucas hadn't been that close back in Salem but she did seem glad that he was coming with the group of bikers, "Carla, didn't you say your cousin wanted to trade in her bike for a car?"

Carla nodded, "Actually she did. You should go up there and talk to her right now." Lucas looked from Cassie to Carla with a look of comprehension coming onto his face.

"You guys planned this whole thing, didn't you?" he asked.

"From the minute Cassie saw you at that gas station." Jason responded cheerfully.

"We'll just ride over and pick up your car." Carla decided, "You can come with me on my bike, Lucas." Cassie noticed the way Carla was looking at Lucas and her eyes darkened.

"That's okay, Carla, but me and Richard will go take him over there." Cassie replied through clenched teeth. Cassie, Lucas and Richard went outside and went between the motorcycles in the driveway to get to the two bikes sitting at the front of the driveway.

"You can ride my bike." Cassie told Lucas, "I'll go with Richard. He's a nice ride." Lucas and Richard whirled around to stare at her in shock and it was a few seconds before she realized what she had said.

Blushing furiously, she corrected herself, "No, I mean, it's a nice ride. You know, the bike." Lucas and Richard couldn't keep from laughing, which only made Cassie blush even harder. Lucas got onto to Cassie's bike and Cassie tossed him the keys. He didn't know how travelling with a group of motorcyclists would turn out but he did know that it was going to be a lot healthier than spending hours driving in his car, trying unsuccessfully to forget about Sami.

  
  


"Is our plan working?" Sami asked Nicole as she flipped past another talk show. She and Nicole were sitting in Sami's apartment, watching TV and talking about Brady.

Nicole smiled, "I think so. I've been pretty much ignoring Brady, giving him the silent treatment like you told me to. He's not taking it very well. He doesn't know what to think anymore."

"Good, keep that up." Sami nodded approvingly, "Then you have to go find another guy to chase after to make him jealous."

Nicole eyed the television screen thoughtfully, "I still haven't decided who to go after yet. I could go after Shawn but he already has two girls madly in love with him. Then there's Phillip. But I wish there was someone else I could go after, someone that would kill Brady to see me with. But how are you doing? You still miss Lucas a lot, don't you?"

Sami pulled her eyes away from the screen to stare at Nicole, "Am I that obvious?" she asked nervously.

"No, you just really haven't been yourself lately." Nicole laughed and shook her head, "It might be just me but you don't seem to be doing a very good job of hiding your feelings."

Sami refused to respond to that and went back to glaring at the TV. Nicole knew the only reason she could tell how much Sami cared about Lucas was because she had been spending so much with Sami and because they were becoming such good friends. But it was easy to see that Sami had it bad. Really bad. Nicole just hoped that the killer would be caught soon so that her friend would find the same happiness with Lucas that she hoped to find with Brady.


	4. But Maybe This Time We'll Get It Right

Chapter Four

  
  


Lucas had been travelling with Cassie and the group of motorcyclists for a few weeks now. After leaving Chicago, they had rode their bikes down to Canada. Their first stop was Vancouver, where Carla, Adam, Nina, Jason, Dan, Tyler and Bruce had all grown up together. They had spent their first day in Vancouver and it was now late that night. They were staying at a motel and Lucas, Cassie and Richard were all sitting outside.

Cassie leaned back against Richard's chest and sighed, "Today was a lot of fun." she said out of the blue.

Lucas groaned loudly, "Actually, it wasn't. I can't believe I let you two drag me to Science World like I was a little kid or something. Then you ran off together. Where'd you guys go, anyway?"

Cassie felt her cheeks heat up, "The Shadow Room." she murmured, hoping Lucas wouldn't push it any further. She sunk deeper into Richard's arms and took a cigarette out of her pocket and lit it with shaking fingers. As soon as Lucas noticed the cigarette dangling from Cassie's mouth, he reached over and yanked it away from her, throwing it onto the gravel in front of him. Cassie let out a squeal of protest and wacked Lucas on the arm.

"What did you do that for?" she exclaimed angrily, "Those are expensive!"

"You know, I found out that you were my sister right before you faked your death. Now that I know you aren't dead, I have to make up for lost time when I thought I wasn't your brother." Lucas explained, carefully watching her reaction.

Cassie looked at the ground. She could tell by the tone of his voice that he was thinking about that time in the hotel when Rex and Mimi had walked in on them. After finding out he was her brother, she had started avoiding him. And if he brought it up in front of Richard, she was going to end up paying for it. There was no way she wanted Richard to know that she had come so close to sleeping with her half-brother. Not feeling the way she felt about him.

"I'm sorry about that." Cassie responded, "I shouldn't have started ignoring you. We could have been friends."

"We could have." Lucas nodded, "And we still can." he noticed Richard looking at both of them with undisguised confusion but didn't say anything about what had happened. Cassie smiled at Lucas gratefully, knowing that he wasn't going to say anything.

"I'd like that." she said. Richard pulled his own cigarette out of his mouth and blew a cloud of grey smoke into the air.

"So," Richard began nonchalantly, eager to change the subject to one he was more familiar with, "What do you think of Carla, Lucas?"

Lucas remembered the way Carla had been making plays for him on the entire trip. On any other occasion, he would have been flattered and might have even responded. But he didn't feel like being with anyone if it wasn't Sami.

"She's nice." Lucas said weakly, unsure of how to answer Richard's question.

"Nice?" Richard repeated, his lip curling into a small sneer, "Does that mean you're screwing her yet?"

"Oh, God, no." Lucas shook his head emphatically.

"Good." Cassie gave him an approving glance, "And don't. Carla's a slut."

"She might be a slut but she's a hot slut." Richard raised an eyebrow, "And I would know."

Cassie hated it when he stood up for Carla or mentioned how he had slept with her. She knew it shouldn't upset her so much, he had been with Nina, Kari, Carla and herself, not to mention all the one-night stands he had with girls he met on the motorcycle trip. She had seen him walk off with more than one woman and every time it hurt like hell. She knew he didn't owe her anything, he had never made her any promises. That didn't stop the burning sensation of rage and hurt she felt whenever he found someone new. She kept trying to tell herself that it didn't matter, that it was just the kind of guy Richard was. She knew it all along and should have known better than to fall for him. But she had always fallen for the wrong guy and this time was no exception.

"Lucas, you can do so much better." Cassie told him, "Carla is nothing. She's a stupid whore that deserves to get an STD and die." Lucas looked shocked at the conviction that Cassie spoke with but Cassie hadn't been able to contain her hatred for Carla. She was already making Cassie's life a living hell by hitting on Richard, there was no way she was going to mess up Lucas' life too.

"I wasn't planning on doing anything with Carla." Lucas assured Cassie and Cassie sighed with relief. Richard just looked at Lucas without understanding.

"Why not? You can tell that she wants you." Richard said.

"Well, I don't want her." Lucas retorted hotly. Richard let out a little moan of frustration.

"Then what do you want, Lucas?" he asked, his voice tainted with exasperation. Lucas stared straight ahead as he pictured Sami's baby blue eyes and long blonde hair in his mind.

"Something I can't have." he replied in a soft voice. He wondered if things would be different if Sami had come with him. She would have liked the motorcycle trip, she always liked adventures. Maybe if she felt the same way he did, she would have come and then they would have been the ones ditching Richard and Cassie to go up to the Shadow Room. It didn't take a genius to figure out what Richard and Cassie had been doing in there and he had to admit, it would be a very interesting place to do..... He abruptly pushed that thought out of his mind. Sami obviously didn't want him so he wasn't going to ever be making love to her, in the Shadow Room or anywhere else.

Richard eyed Lucas with sympathy, "What does that mean? There isn't anything you can't have if you want it badly enough. You just have to do everything you can to get it."

"Come again?" Lucas wondered what Richard could possibly mean by that.

Richard ran one hand through his hair, "Nothing is completely impossible. There has never been one time when I have tried to get something I wanted and failed." Lucas watched him carefully, understanding how serious he was. Lucas could see him getting his way with most things he did. He had an air of superiority about him and he seemed to so powerful.

"He's right." Cassie agreed, turning to look at Richard, "Richard has a way with words. He can seduce you, he can make anything sound like it's beautiful, like it's the right thing to do when it really isn't. Just like the devil." Richard grinned, seeming to take even the last part as a compliment.

"We should go in." Richard said, not making a move to get to his feet, "We're going to try and make it all the way to Saskatchewan tomorrow, so we're going to have to get up early. Ryan and Trent said they have a cousin who lives up in Brandon, Manitoba. We're going to go see him."

Lucas sat completely still for a minute, his heart rate spiking as he put all the pieces together. After a few moments, he leapt off the ground. Cassie and Richard stared at him in confusion.

"Lucas, what the hell?" Cassie watched him kick at the gravel angrily.

"Brandon. I can't believe I didn't think see it before. God, I am such an idiot!" Lucas growled as Cassie and Richard continued to look at him like he was insane.

"Lucas, did Shaun and Freddy share their special stash with you or something?" Richard asked, "Man, it takes a while for that stuff to kick in with you."

"I know who the killer is." Lucas turned to Cassie, "It's Brandon Walker. I saw him at the hospital and he was there right before I found out-" he cut himself off and looked at Cassie with horror flashing across his face, "Shit, I didn't even tell you what happened yet."

"What happened?" Cassie asked, the look on Lucas' face causing her throat to become tight with fear. She could tell that Lucas didn't have good news for her.

"Cassie," Lucas began, reaching over and touching her arm, "Roman and Kate got married on Christmas eve. This was after the Salem PD got messages saying that Roman would be the next victim. They had the wedding and you could only get in with an invitation and I don't know how Brandon pulled it off but somehow he managed to get in. Roman and Kate never got to go on their honey moon because-" this was so hard for Lucas to tell her and he knew once he got around to telling her what had happened with Tony, it wasn't going to get any easier, "Because the killer murdered him at the wedding."

"No." Cassie whispered, clutching Richard's arm for support. Lucas took a deep breath before continuing.

"Tony thought he knew who the killer was. But he didn't know who it was because he thought it was a woman. He was about to tell everyone who he thought the killer was but then the killer had a bucket of blood dumped on Tony's head. Before this he had let the tiger on the loose and then it... attacked Tony. He got sent to the hospital and then someone poisoned his IV."

Cassie was sobbing now, burying her head into Richard's chest, "I don't believe. Not my daddy. This isn't fair, I never even got to say good-bye." Lucas watched Richard stroke Cassie's hair as she cried. He knew how important Tony had been to Cassie and knew he would feel the same way if anything happened to his mom. He wished there was something he could do to help her through this.

Cassie stopped crying after what seemed like forever and looked up at Lucas, "So, how can you be sure it's Brandon?"

"Nicole was on the suspect list from the very start." Lucas explained, "Abe was getting close to naming her as Colin Murphy's killer. Brandon must have found out and came back to Salem. He killed his own father to protect his sister. He must have known Jack was almost ready to solve the case too, so he killed Jack. Then Maggie must have seen something. I can't believe she would let him into her house. They were never even that close. But she was such a good woman, she would have let anyone into her house. Then Caroline must have saw him or something and he killed her. I don't know why he would have killed Roman. And Tony....." Lucas' voice trailed off.

Then he remembered seeing Victor and Tony talking together and realized what must have been going on, "Tony thought Nicole was the killer. Victor convinced Tony to announce it at the circus. Brandon found out somehow and set Tony up. He must have went in and poisoned Tony, then came outside. That's when I saw him. He said he had only been in Salem a few days and asked me not to tell anyone he was back yet. He wanted it to be a surprise. Even after I said I wouldn't say anything, he obviously didn't trust me, so he planned to kill me next."

Cassie stared at Lucas, her eyes wide, "What are you doing to do?" she asked softly.

Lucas' eyes darkened with determination, "I have to go back to Salem and find him before he kills anyone else. Now that I'm not around, he's just going to move on to someone else. He already attacked Sami once- God, we have to get back there as soon as possible." Lucas gritted his teeth at the idea of Brandon hurting Sami.

"All right." Richard stood up and immediately took charge, "We are going to go in there and start riding back to Salem right now. I don't care how tired we are, we have to drive during the night to avoid as much traffic as possible. Don't worry Lucas, this bastard isn't going to get away with this."

Richard, Lucas and Cassie burst into the motel and started waking their friends up. Richard was fixed on making Brandon pay for what he had done. He had killed Cassie's father and he had seen how badly that had affected Cassie. He hated seeing her cry, he had never been so torn up by anyone else's tears but she was different. Brandon was definitely not going to get away with making Cassie suffer. 


	5. Worth The Fight

Chapter Five

  
  


Lucas, Cassie and Richard parked their bikes in front of the loft. Cassie quickly dismounted and hurried towards the building, eager to see her brother after all the long months they had been apart. Richard and Lucas followed closely behind Cassie, who was trying her best not to break into a run. She rushed up to Rex and Shawn's loft, hoping her brother was there. After knocking impatiently on the door, Mimi answered. She saw Cassie standing in front of her and her mouth dropped open.

"Cassie!" she said in a stunned voice, "Are you really here?"

Cassie managed to give Rex's girlfriend a weak smile, "I'm really here. Is my brother here?"

Mimi nodded wordlessly and let Cassie, Lucas and Richard into the loft, "Rex! Rex, you need to come here right now." Rex emerged from his bedroom, looking to Mimi before he noticed Cassie. Mimi nodded in Cassie's direction and he inhaled sharply when I saw her.

"You're not dead." his face broke into a grin and he ran over to her and enveloped her into a big hug. She hugged him back, feeling her own smile widen. She hadn't realized how much she had actually missed Rex until that moment. Mimi watched the scene unfolding and she felt her eyes grow wet. She was so happy for Rex. He had lost so much, there was no one who deserved this more than he did. He finally pulled away from her and his eyes were questioning.

"What happened?" he asked.

"I didn't want you to keep getting accused of the murders." Cassie began to explain, "I thought if I faked my death, everyone would stop accusing you. I thought you might have an alibi. Then, I left Salem and I met Richard." she turned to smile at Richard, who smiled back encouragingly.

Rex looked a little angry at his sister's response. He grabbed both of her shoulders, his eyes burning into hers, "Don't you ever do something like that again." his voice was low and thick with emotion, "Do you have any idea what you put me through? I know you tried to do the right thing but I missed you so much, Cass. Everything started falling apart after you died and it was so hard for me to imagine going through life without you. If it wasn't for Mimi....." his voice trailed off and Cassie felt her eyes well up with tears.

"I'm sorry." she whispered, "I only wanted to stop everyone from treating you the way you were. I knew that you were a good person and that you were too sweet and caring to kill anyone. I knew that you were innocent and so was Tony-" her voice cracked when she said Tony's name and she couldn't hold in the tears. She burst into loud, heart-broken sobs and Rex felt his own tears beginning to fall down his face. He wrapped his arms around Cassie and they cried together. Mimi, Lucas and Richard watched silently. Mimi went over to stand beside Lucas and Richard. She gave them a little smile.

Cassie wiped the tears out of her eyes, "I wish I had been here to tell him good-bye and to tell him that I loved him. I'm glad he had you though." Rex looked away from his sister and she felt a feeling of alarm gnawing at her insides, "Rex, what's wrong?"

He shook his head and looked up at her, his eyes red and filled with regret and sadness, "That's just it. He didn't have me. There was all this evidence against him and everyone thought he was the Salem Stalker, even me. After everything he did for me, I turned my back on him when he needed me the most. At first, I wouldn't even go to the hospital. I was too ashamed. Then, when I finally decided to go see him, it was too late." Cassie's eyes widened at the news and she stared at him in disbelief.

"I can't believe you." she tried to keep the anger out of her voice but she still made the words sound harsh and accusing, "How could you ever think he would kill me? Or anyone else, for that matter? Are you that stupid? So, he died having no one. Of course you couldn't go to the hospital after thinking he was the murderer. He was going to tell the world who he thought did it and you still treated him that crap after what he did for you! No wonder you didn't want to go to the hospital at first, it must have taken a lot to work up the nerve to decide to go there and look him in the eye. It's no wonder you can't look me in the eye right now, after the way you treated the most wonderful father we could have ever had!"

By the time she had finished talking, she was yelling, completely ignoring the wounded expression on Rex's face as he continued to stare at the floor. She bolted at the door and Richard went after her. Lucas eyed Rex with concern and Mimi went over to Rex and wrapped her arms around him.

"I'm sorry, Rex." Mimi whispered in his ear, her lips resting on his cheek for a few seconds. Rex shook his head, the ashamed and remorseful look not leaving his face.

"I should have known she would react like that." Rex admitted, "She bonded with Tony, they were so close. I can't blame her for saying all those things. I just hope she can forgive me."

"I'll try to talk to her." Lucas promised and Rex looked up at Lucas gratefully. Lucas could tell that he wanted to be alone with Mimi so he loft the loft, going back down to see Cassie pressed against Richard's chest, her tears not slowing. Lucas approached them awkwardly.

"I'm sorry about what happened, Cassie." Lucas told her, "Look, there's someone I have to go see. I'll talk to you guys later." Richard nodded but before Lucas could leave, he grabbed the sleeve of Lucas' leather jacket.

"Get a picture of that guy." Richard whispered, "Then we'll go after him. We're not going to let him kill anyone else." Lucas agreed to get a photograph of Brandon, knowing there had to be one somewhere in Sami's apartment. Remembering Sami, he almost smiled. He got on top of the motorcycle and left Cassie standing in front of loft, crying into Richard's arms.

  
  


Sami sat in front of the television, her eyes slowly closing. It was late evening and she had spent the whole day working at Basic Black. She was exhausted was half-asleep when the knock sounded on her apartment door. Sitting up and yawning, she walked over to the door and pulled it open. Lucas stood in front of her, his eyes lighting up when he saw her. He can't really be here, Sami decided, I must be dreaming. Deciding to take advantage of the dream, she stood on her tip-toes and snaked her hands behind his head, lowering his head until their lips were touching.

Lucas raked his hands through her hair, making up for every night he had went without seeing her. He stifled a moan as her tongue moved inside his mouth, claiming every dark recess as her own. She bunched up the leather material of his jacket in her hands, realizing that this was definitely not a dream. His hot mouth pressing against hers urgently was too real. But she gone past the point of caring and continued kissing him like she had wanted to kiss him for the longest time. They finally separated, both of them breathing hard. Lucas smiled at her, his eyes dancing with amusement.

"I wish you greeted me like that all the time." he teased and Sami felt her face heat up. She looked him over, eyeing the shadow of dark brown stubble lining his jaw and the way she could still see his biceps ripple beneath the leather jacket. He had been almost irresistible before and now he was desirable beyond reason. But once she stopped thinking about how much he reminded her of a Greek God, she remembered the reason why she hadn't seen him in so long.

"Why are you back?" she whispered hoarsely, "The killer, she's-"

Lucas put on hand over her mouth, barely fighting off the impulse to replace that hand with his lips, "Take a breath, dollface." he cringed inwardly when he realized what he had just said. Dollface? That just went to show that he had been spending way too much time around Richard. Richard called Cassie dollface all the time.

"Lucas, you could be killed." she hissed, unable to keep the fear out of her voice. A part of her was so glad he was back in Salem but she knew that part was being selfish. It was for his own good that he was gone. Now that he was back, the killer could get him at any time.

"Sami, I'm going to be fine." he assured her, "I know who it is. They aren't going to get me."

"How can you be so sure?" she demanded, her hands still gripping his jacket, not wanting to let go of him.

He rubbed her back reassuringly, "I made some new friends. They're going to make sure he gets what he deserves." he remembered that he needed to get the picture of Brandon. Sami was staring at him in shock.

"He?" she repeated, "Lucas, please tell me it's John."

Lucas sighed, deciding he didn't have the strength to tell her who the killer was. He had told Cassie that her father was dead not long ago. It would be even harder to tell the woman that mattered most to him that her ex-husband had murdered her grandmother and father, "It's isn't John. I actually can't tell you who it is."

"Lucas!" she screeched angrily, "You have to tell me."

He smirked at her, "Maybe if you keep giving me the same treatment you did when you answered the door, we could work something out." Sami flushed as she remembered the way she had kissed him with reckless abandon like she couldn't control herself. And the truth was, she hadn't been able to do. She silently cursed him for coming back. She had needed time to forget how much she cared about him. Although, deep down, she knew that no amount of time would ever be enough to make her forget what Lucas did to her whenever he was around.

She finally let him inside the apartment and they sat down on the couch. Sami turned the TV off with the remote. Lucas looked at the yellow flannel nightgown she was wearing and his left hand moved up to stroke the soft blonde hair that framed her face. She took a deep breath when his hand touched her hair but she didn't pull away.

"I missed you." he told her in a soft voice, letting his other hand rest on her hip. She stared at him in complete silence and he hoped that she would say it back. God, Sami, please just say it back.

She finally found her voice but took her eyes off his dark brown ones, knowing that her eyes would betray how much she wanted him, "I missed you too."


	6. Cause Love Is Something You Can't Shake

Chapter Six

  
  


After everyone heard that Cassie was actually alive, they decided to have a party at the Blue Note. Lucas and Sami went together in Sami's car. Before they left, Sami looked over at Lucas' motorcycle wistfully. Lucas noticed and grinned at her.

"It's great, isn't it?" he asked, "I'll have to take you for a ride on it sometime." Sami was glad it was too dark for him to see the colour of her face. She didn't know why she ended up turning everything he said into something sexual. It wasn't healthy to want someone as badly as she wanted Lucas, it was affected her body and her mind in ways that were almost driving her crazy.

He drove over to the Blue Note and Cassie, Richard and most of the people from the motorcycle gang were there. Nicole came over to Sami to say hi.

After she had finished greeting her friend, she turned to Lucas, "It's good to have you back. I'm sure Sami's glad." Nicole smiled knowingly at Sami who flushed and turned away. When Sami's attention was diverted to Belle and Shawn, who had came over to her to say hello, Nicole leaned over and whispered in Lucas' ear.

"She loves you." when Sami turned back to the two of them with a curious look on her face, Nicole looked back at her innocently. Lucas' eyes moved from Nicole to Sami, wondering how the two of them could have become so close in such a short time. He also wondered if what Nicole had just told him was true or not.

"What did she just say to you, Lucas?" Sami asked suspiciously, still watching Nicole carefully.

Nicole watched with amusement as Lucas replied, "Nothing." Sami glared at Nicole and mouthed 'later' to her friend. They did have to talk about their plans to get Brady to want Nicole so Nicole knew Sami wasn't about to let it go.

After talking shortly with Kate, Marlena and Phillip, Sami and Lucas began looking for a table to sit at. Then Sami felt someone crash into her from behind, elbowing her in the back in the process. She whirled around and glared at the blond man who had crashed into her.

"Watch where you're going!" she snapped.

He looked up and gave her a dirty look, "Fuck you." he responded.

Lucas watched as Sami's eyebrow raised, "Fuck yourself, it's cheaper." Richard suddenly noticed Lucas standing next to the blonde woman and realized it had to be Sami. He gave her an icy smile in reply to her words.

"You're a feisty one, aren't you?" he took a step towards her, "Maybe I'd like to find out just how feisty." Sami looked at him with disgust and took a step away from him. Cassie came up beside Richard and wrapped her arm around his waist, frowning at Sami.

"I don't know why you're looking at me like that." Sami said to Cassie. Lucas had already told her about Cassie faking her death so Sami wasn't surprised to see her there, "He started it, it certainly wasn't my fault."

"It's always your fault." Cassie retorted, her grip tightening around Richard's waist possessively. Richard didn't seem to mind though. Lucas shook his head, disappointed.

"Remember how I told you about Richard and how he was such a great guy?" Lucas asked Sami, who nodded, "Well, here he is. It's too bad, I had really expected you to get along. You have a lot in common."

"How can you even suggest I have a single thing in common with that creep?" Sami spat out.

"You both enjoy making Kate miserable." Cassie remarked, "I don't even know why Richard doesn't like my mom but he really enjoyed making her mad. We were having a very nice conversation, then he had to go and say, 'And by the way, I'm sleeping with your daughter.' and mess everything up. That's why I pushed him and then he bumped into you."

Sami broke into a smile at the image of the look on Kate's face when Richard said that, "On second thought, I think we could along." she told Richard, who nodded agreeably. She spotted Nicole sitting over by the bar by herself and Sami excused herself to go talk to Nicole. She sat down on the seat next to Nicole's.

"How did Brady take it when you told him you wouldn't go with him as his date tonight unless he broke up with Chloe?" Sami asked curiously. Nicole had called her earlier that night and told her how Brady had asked her to be his date and Sami had instructed her not to accept. If Nicole kept playing hard to get with him, there was no way he was going to be able to keep avoiding his feelings for her.

"I told him I wouldn't let him string me along when the only one he really wanted was Chloe." Nicole told Sami, taking a sip of the drink in her hand, "He said he only wanted to go as friends. Then I told him I was going with someone else."

"Well, that was smart, wasn't it?" Sami said sarcastically, "Doesn't he want to know where your date is?"

Nicole looked miserable, "I told him my date couldn't make it because of a family emergency. But I think he could tell there was never anyone else."

"You still need to find someone to make him jealous with." Sami stated, looking around the room, "And we've just got a whole new shipment of hot guys in, so I'd say you shouldn't have a problem. I'll just ask Lucas which one you should go after."

Sami called Lucas over and asked him which of the guys in the motorcycle gang Nicole should get together with. Lucas looked around the room at the different people in the motorcycle gang. He could immediately eliminate Dave and Freddy. Richard had told Lucas that Dave had been dating Cassie for a few weeks, then decided that, not only was he bisexual, but he preferred guys. Cassie had then moved on to dating Freddy, who had ended up falling in love with Dave. Richard and Lucas had teased Cassie about this all the time. Richard had recently stopped bothering her about it because of one of the conversations they had a few weeks ago.

"Everything you touch Cassie. You know how that guy had the chocolate touch? Well, you must have the queer touch or something." Richard had said, laughing.

"Really?" Cassie had shot back, "I didn't know you were having any problems. Or is there something you're not telling us?"

Richard had shut up after that and Lucas had to admit, it was a good comeback. So Dave and Freddy were not possibilities. Trent was a hot-head and Dan was Carla's cousin, who was almost as annoying as Carla was. Speaking of Carla, he could also eliminate the four boy toys Carla was stringing along at the moment, Adam, Erik, Bruce and Zack. And Nina was switching back and forth between Ryan and Jesse. Tyler was dating Kaleb's sister, Kari, so he wasn't going to work either. Richard was definitely out of the question, Cassie would kick Nicole's ass. That left Josh, Kaleb, Jason and Shaun. Kaleb was too serious. Shaun was a druggie. But then again, it would be funny to see Nicole with a druggie. She certainly deserved it.

A smile crossed over his face. Josh and Jason were a lot alike, both of them could get annoying sometimes, with those big grins on their faces that never seemed to go away. They probably slept with those irritating grins on their faces. But, like Shaun, Jason was a druggie. Lucas could see it now, Victor hitting the roof when he found out his wife was sneaking around with someone like Jason.

"I know the perfect guy for you." Lucas told Nicole, "His name's Jason. I'll go get him so that you two can get to know each other." he went over to Jason and Sami remembered that Nicole had whispered something to Lucas earlier.

"What did you say to Lucas?" she asked.

"Do you really want to know?" Nicole inquired and Sami's eyes widened. She nodded and Nicole finally told her, "All I did was tell him the truth. All I said was, 'She loves you'."

"God, you're stupid." Sami growled, looking over at Lucas nervously, "How could you do that?"

"It wasn't like he didn't already know." Nicole shot back, "Besides, he loves you too. Why don't you just admit it, Sami?"

"Because......." Sami couldn't finish the sentence. She didn't know why it was so hard to tell Lucas the truth but there was something that kept holding her back, making her change her mind about admitting it every time she tried to work up the courage to tell him. She couldn't finish the sentence anyways, because Lucas returned with Jason.

"Nicole, meet Jason." Jason gave Nicole a big smile and she smiled back.

A little while later, Lucas and Sami went out onto the dance floor together. Sami looked past Lucas' shoulder to see Nicole and Jason dancing together nearby. She looked past them to see Brady watching, a scowl on his face. There was no question in Sami's mind, Brady was definitely jealous. About halfway into the dance, a black woman sauntered over to Lucas and Sami.

"Lucas." she said, almost purring, "I haven't gotten to spend anytime with you all night. You think you can pull yourself away from Barbie Doll to dance the next couple of dances with me?" Sami stiffened, knowing that she already hated whoever this was. Lucas seemed to sense Sami's discomfort and his arms tightened around her waist.

"Actually, I'd rather not, Carla." he responded and Sami was unable to resist throwing a triumphant smirk in Carla's direction as Carla began stalking back over to a group of black guys. Lucas caught the look on Sami's face.

"I hope she leaves us alone now." Lucas whispered, "Because there's only one person I want to dance with tonight." Sami felt a warm glow spreading over her entire body. There was something about his touch and the way he could say things to her, it made her feel like he needed her as much as she needed him. It was nice just being able to be out here on the dance floor, holding each other without having to worry about anything else. And now his fingers were moving along the material her skirt, tracing the outline of her panties. That was even nicer. The old Sami probably would have pulled away and yelled at him. But his being gone for long then having him return had changed things for her. It was like her urge to resist him was slowly dissolving into nothing. It was only a matter of time before it was completely gone.


	7. When It Breaks

Chapter Seven

  
  


Victor paced at the bottom of the stairs, grumbling under his breath. He noticed Brady coming down the stairs and greeted his grandson, not stopping in his pacing.

"I don't suppose you've seen my whore of a wife, have you?" Victor asked and an anxious and confused look passed over Brady's face as he shook his head. Victor didn't miss the look and silently cursed Nicole for sinking her claws so deeply into Brady. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't keep Brady from the toxic, deadly woman that he regretted ever having made his wife.

"When did she leave? Should we go look for her?" Brady questioned, unable to contain his worry. Nicole had been more distant lately, she was like ice, especially in comparison to the way she had acted around him before. She had been avoiding him lately and the night before at the Blue Note, she had spent the whole time with that guy. That black guy with that relentless smile, the one that hadn't left his face once.

"I don't know when she left. And I don't have any idea where she could be. She snuck out again, the stupid tramp. She's probably going after her next victim, being the murderess she is." Victor fumed.

"Grandad, stop it." Brady said sharply, "Nicole is not the killer and she is not a tramp." he heard his grandfather snort, "I am serious. You wouldn't have gotten involved with someone just because they were beautiful. There had to be some qualities about Nicole you liked."

Before Victor could reply, they heard the sound of motorcycle's engine outside the mansion. They looked through the glass windows of the front door and saw a black motorcycle parked outside with two people on the back of it. One of them was tall, slender and once she took off her helmet, she revealed a head of blonde hair. She gracefully climbed off the bike as Victor stormed outside. Brady was close behind him.

"What do you think you're doing?" Victor barked at both Nicole and the black man Brady recognized from the Blue Note. Nicole turned and beamed at Victor, not seeming fazed by the furious expression on Victor's face.

"Take it easy, man." Jason said, "We weren't doing anything wrong. I was just taking her for a ride. You know, a ride." he raised his eyebrows and began laughing hysterically.

Victor was growing angrier by the second, "I do not have to take this. Get off my property now!"

Jason held up his hands in protest, trying to stop laughing, "If that's really what you want. I was hoping we could have been friends but now-" he shook his head in mock sadness before beginning laughing even harder than before. Jason rode away from the mansion and Victor turned to glower at Nicole.

"What do you have to say for yourself, Nicole?" Victor demanded.

Nicole smiled sweetly in return, "Nothing." she said happily, "Is there something wrong with going out and having a good time with a friend?"

"Get in the house right now!" Victor shouted and she obediently turned and started towards the house. Brady and Victor watched as she skipped up the front steps. Brady could tell that there was something wrong with Nicole so he bolted into the house after her. He watched as she started to climb up the stairs, then lost her balance and fell. Brady hurried over to help her stand up again.

"Most people fall going down stairs, not up them." Brady commented, looking at Nicole carefully, "Are you okay, Nicole?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Nicole giggled, "I had so much fun with Jason." she opened the door to the linen closet, then closed it, "Oops, wrong door." she continued down the hall.

"What did you and Jason do?" Brady asked, hoping she would let him know why she was acting this way.

"He took me for a ride on his motorcycle." Nicole told Brady, in a tone that told him it should have been obvious, "Then he made us some lines of coke. It was great."

It finally sunk in, "Oh God, you're high. If grandad finds out, he's going to kill you." Nicole's head snapped up and she glared at Brady.

"Well he won't find out. Because it's none of his business or yours. Can you please get out now?" she asked him and reluctantly he left her bedroom. He knew that he wasn't going to let Jason near Nicole anymore. Despite every secret she had kept and every lie she had told him, he was still fiercely protective of her. He didn't want to ever see her get hurt.

  
  


Richard and Lucas sat in Lucas' apartment that day. Lucas was planning on spending that evening with Sami and Richard was trying to give him advice.

"You could have her if you wanted." Richard remarked, "It wouldn't be that hard. All you have to do is seduce her, no woman can resist a guy when they use all of their charm."

"Yeah, well, you don't know Sami." Lucas responded, "She can be very stubborn."

"She didn't look very stubborn when the two of you were dancing together." Richard said, "You just have to keep saying and doing things that make her feel good. I promise, it will work."

"But it isn't just about sex." Lucas told Richard, looking exasperated, "I mean, yeah, that would be great but I just want to be able to be with her. I want her to stop pushing me away."

"You can get her into bed and worry about all the emotional crap later." Richard said simply, "Trust me, getting a woman like her into the sac couldn't be that hard. Now that her daddy's gone, you'd be surprised what she would do for a man's attention."

Lucas stared at Richard in horror, "I cannot believe you just said that. That was terrible. Is that how you feel about Cassie? Because if it is, you had better stop stringing her along or I am going to-"

Richard cut him off, "You have to worry about Sami. Leave me and Cassie alone. Besides, it's true. I don't see why you bother. Women are all the same. They're like family, they don't really care about you, they just stick around because it's convenient for them." Richard's voice was hard and emotionless. Lucas just stared at him, wondering what could have happened to him to make him so hostile and bitter towards everyone. No wonder he wouldn't let himself be tied down to one person. He felt a rush of sympathy for Cassie. He wondered if she knew what she was dealing with.

"Oh, Jason was going around talking about how he took this blonde chick out on his bike earlier today. He said that he got her stoned and that her husband freaked out. I think her name was Nicole. Do you know her?" Richard changed the subject.

Lucas smirked, "Yeah. I didn't expect him to pull out the drugs so fast. She had it coming though. She's my ex-wife."

Richard raised an eyebrow, "Really? What happened?"

"She married me for my money. She got five million dollars from my mom." Lucas shrugged, trying to act like it didn't matter anymore, "It's too bad they didn't give her that contaminated coke. You know, the stuff Shaun, Freddy and Jason were talking about, the stuff that makes your nose bleed for ten minutes straight?"

Richard nodded in agreement, "That would have been excellent. See, she didn't care and Sami probably doesn't either. That's why you fuck her brains out, then try and see what else you can get out of her."

Damn, he was cynical, "You can do it your way and I'll do it mine." Lucas knew that if there was one thing he wouldn't do, it would be to take advantage of Sami like that. He wanted to know that she loved him and that she actually wanted to be with him for longer than just one night before he slept with her.

"Look, just try it okay?" Richard's voice was smooth, "Even if you seduce her a little bit, you'll make progress. Just say a few things, as long as they aren't too subtle."

He might be a cynic but at least he was trying to help. Lucas smiled gratefully, "Thanks. I'll remember that."


	8. All It Takes Is Some Trying

Chapter Eight

  
  


Lucas came over and sat next to Sami on the couch after throwing the remains of their dinner in the trash. Their legs brushed against each other and Sami felt herself blushing. Lucas had been in rare form that night and it was making her feel nervous and excited at the same time. She remembered what he said earlier that night and blushed even harder.

"What do you want for dinner?" he had asked, "I'll make you anything."

"Lucas....."

"I'm not on the menu, sweetheart. But there's always dessert....."

Sami tried to shake off the words that had left her feeling hot and bothered. Ever since he got back to Salem, it hadn't taken much for him to reduce her to a quivering mass of desire. Now that he was acting even more charming that usual, he was so enticing it was killing her. She brought the cup of coffee up to her lips. As she drank out of the cup, she imagined how good it would be to feel Lucas' lips press against her neck, then move down to cover her stomach. He would continue moving lower until his mouth reached... Startled, she titled the cup too much and spilled coffee down the front of her shirt.

She swore loudly as she and Lucas got off the couch. She went into the kitchen and poured the remains of the coffee down the sink. She couldn't believe she had let those thoughts get the best of her. Her face had to be flaming now.

"I'll go find something for you to change into." Lucas offered and he was gone before Sami could protest. She leaned against

the counter, taking deep breaths to steady herself. She had to stop acting like this or Lucas was going to think she was crazy. A small smile grazed her lips when she realized she was crazy. Crazy about Lucas. He finally came out of her bedroom, holding up a baby pink lingerie set with a mischievous grin on his face.

"In your dreams, Lucas." she snatched the lingerie away from him.

"Actually, that was the black one." Lucas corrected her, "Remember, the one you were wearing when you slept over at my house? I remember that dream well."

"You're such a dork." Sami responded, "I'm going to go find something else. And stay out of my lingerie drawers!"

Lucas pouted, "Do I have to?" he asked, the look on his face making Sami laugh. Before she went back into her bedroom, he reached out a took hold of her arm, "Wait, you still wanted to go for a ride on my motorcycle right? I can take you tonight if you want."

Sami smiled at the idea, "Sure." she went into her room and as she was changing, she thought about how much fun she was going to have. The idea of Lucas straddling a motorcycle was almost as hot as the idea of Lucas straddling her. Damn, she thought to herself, throwing the soiled shirt onto the ground, there you go again, Sami. You have got to stop thinking like that. Still, riding on the back of his motorcycle was the perfect excuse to be able to touch him, to be able to hold on to him. She wasn't going to pass up an opportunity like that.

She and Lucas made their way outside and she shivered despite the thick jacket she was wearing. Lucas turned around and put his hands on her arms.

"Cold?" he asked. She could almost feel the heat from his hands burning through her jacket. She shook her head and the two of them got onto the motorcycle.

"Where do you want to go?" he asked her as he started up the bike. Sami snaked her arms around his waist, pressing her head up against his back.

"Anywhere is fine." she replied, the lack of distance between them warming her to the core. Lucas drove away from the apartment building. He drove for a long time and Sami enjoyed every minute of it. Her hair whipped around her face and she could hear Lucas' jacket flapping in the wind. He finally stopped the bike on a beach and he and Sami both got off.

"Why are we here?" Sami whispered. Lucas wrapped one arm around her shoulders and pulled her in closer to him.

"I don't know. You know, Richard grew up around water. He said he was going to teach me and Cassie how to go surfing and how to water-ski. I bet he isn't going to stay around here much longer. He said something happened at the end of senior year and he doesn't like staying in one place anymore. I wonder if Cassie will go back to Canada with him."

"Are you going to go?" Sami asked him, hoping his answer would be no.

Lucas thought about it for moment, "I don't think so. I think it would be an interesting experience but I still don't think it's going to happen. When I was with them, something was always missing. I had to come back to Salem to find it and I don't want to lose it again."

"What was it?" Sami's voice shook as she asked that. Lucas looked down at her.

"It was you, Sami." he said softly, "The whole time I was out of Salem, I wished you had decided to go with me. I still don't know exactly why you didn't go. I thought that you were as reluctant to let go of me as I was to let go of you."

Sami stared at the ground, the toe of her shoe digging into the sand, "You're right." she responded, "I didn't want to let you go but I felt like I had to. Because I was scared. After saying what I did in the clown car, I was confused. I thought if you left, I would realize that I didn't actually love you. Then you were gone and I realized I couldn't get around the fact that I actually had fallen in love with you."

She felt the salty air sting the areas on her cheeks that had become wet with tears. Lucas stared at her with unconcealed affection and love, "Sami, you don't have to cry. I've felt the same way for a long time. I just wasn't sure if you did. Then after you said you couldn't go with me, I thought I knew that you only put up with me because of Will and that you hadn't meant what you said in the clown car."

She turned so that she could wrap her arms around him, "That's not true. I meant every word, even if I had never meant to admit it."

"Sami." he said in a husky voice, before leaning down and letting his lips move on top of hers. He did it softly, so that she could pull away if she wanted to. But she didn't instead, she deepened the kiss even more. They continued to kiss until they felt the first drops of rain hit their clothes and skin.

Lucas looked around and realized how far away they were from Salem and pulled Sami back towards his motorcycle. He had noticed a small cave a little ways down the beach and he and Sami rode over to it. After parking the motorcycle, outside the cave, he pulled her inside.

"We'll just stay in here until the rain stops." he told her. She moved over to so that she was sitting on his lap. She curled up against his chest and sighed with contentment.

"It could rain all night for all I care." she replied and he smiled, kissing her on the top of the head. The rain began falling faster and Sami and Lucas watched it soak the sand, slowly falling asleep in each other's arms.

  
  


Dave and Freddy had finally managed to get an address for Richard and Cassie. They now knew that Brandon was living in an abandoned house on the outskirts of Salem. Cassie was sitting in the car across the street from the house while Richard sat inside, waiting for Brandon to return. He gripped the hammer tightly. This brought back memories. Twisted, bittersweet memories of working with Justin.

Gritting his teeth, he told himself not to think about Justin or anything else that had happened between the two of them. Justin was in jail now and Richard was going to have to keep running for the rest of his life. That was almost punishment enough for killing that woman. But it still hadn't completely made up for it. Richard wanted to believe that by getting rid of this serial killer, it would make up for what he had done.

About fifteen minutes, he heard creaking sounds from the front of the house. Brandon must have come home. He stood slowly, making sure nothing creaked beneath his weight. His hammer was poised and ready. The minute the tall, dark-haired man rounded the corner, he brought the hammer down on his head. The hammer hit his head with a sickening crack and Brandon stared up at Richard dumbly. Richard brought the hammer down again. After four or five more hits, he knew Brandon had to be unconscious.

He dragged the man outside and Cassie pulled up in front of the house. He tried stuffing the body in the trunk, but it wouldn't fit. He finally had to throw it in the backseat, glad the windows of the car Cassie had borrowed from Phillip were tinted. He got into the driver's seat and he drove up to their destination in almost complete silence. Cassie kept looking behind her at the man. Dark purple bruises were beginning to form where Richard had hit him with the hammer. Hatred welled up inside her for the man that had taken any chances she had of having a father away from her.

She and Richard reached the top of a large cliff and they took him over to a tree. Since it was winter, no one came out here. They chained him securely to the tree. As they were finishing off wrapping the motorcycle chains around his legs, he came to. Groaning loudly, he looked up at the two of them.

"I'm glad you're awake." Cassie told him in a voice colder than ice, "Now we can explain what we're going to do to you so there won't be any surprises."

"Surprises?" Brandon repeated, his mind still foggy from being hit over the head repeatedly with a hammer.

"That's right." the hatred in Cassie's voice was so clear and intense it almost scared Richard, "First, we're going to gouge out your eyes with a burning fork. Then we're going to castrate you and make you eat it. We're going to cut off your fingers and toes one by one. Then we'll set your hair on fire. Eventually we'll kill you, but not before we make you good and sorry for what you've done. You will deserve every minute of torture. You killed my father. You killed both of my fathers. You made my father and my brother go to jail for crimes you had committed. Nothing is too harsh a punishment for you after that. Richard and I will go back to Salem to get the equipment we need and then we'll come back. But we'll probably think up some even better ways to torture you before that."

Brandon looked up at Cassie with wide eyes, "You wouldn't." he croaked out but he could sense how strong her hatred towards him really was. She would do it, he was sure of it. And the idea of how painful that was caused him to wet himself, literally. Cassie noticed that the front of his pants were now wet and a very brief smile flickered across her face.

"Shut up." Cassie snapped, "Come on Richard, let's go."

She and Richard walked away, "Cassie, we're not actually going to do all that stuff you said we're going to do, are we?" Richard asked nervously.

Cassie smiled, "Of course not. We're just going to leave him there for the night thinking we are. He'll be so worried about it that he won't get any sleep. Then we go back and just kill him."

Richard sighed in relief, "Thank God. But all that shit you said..... I would feel sorry for the guy under other circumstances. You're evil, Cassie."

"I learned from the best of them." Cassie squeezed his arm and the two of them got back into Phillip's car, starting the long drive back to Salem.


	9. If You Feel Like Leaving

Chapter Nine

  
  


Brandon listened to the sound of branches snapping and hushed voices as he slowly opened his eyes. It had been a long night and now they were back. He braced himself for the excruciating pain he was about to feel. Once Cassie and Richard came into sight, he was surprised to see that all they were carrying was a hammer. Remembering how they had hit his head with that same hammer with night before, his back went rigid.

Richard brought the hammer down over Brandon's head a few times, his face set and determined. As Brandon lost consciousness, Cassie undid the motorcycle chains and she and Richard carried him back to the car. It was the car he had been driving around Salem, Cassie had found the keys in his pocket the night before. She and Richard placed him in the driver's seat, then stepped back. He was hunched over the steering wheel, eyes shut and head bruised. Cassie looked over at Richard questioningly.

"How are we going to do this?" she asked him. Richard shook his head uncertainly.

"I don't know. I've never done this before." he looked around him until his eyes rested on a large branch. He went over and picked it up, "We could wedge this between him and the accelerator. If the car explodes on impact like it should, the stick will burn up and no one will ever know it was there. But if it doesn't explode, one of us is going to have to go down and get it. We have to make this look like he just lost control of the car and went over the edge."

"It will explode." Cassie said confidently as Richard went over to the car. As he was starting up the car, Brandon shifted in the seat and groaned. Richard quickly slammed Brandon's head into the steering wheel, silencing him once again. Richard started up the car and shoved the stick in. Richard moved away from the car and watched as the wheels began rolling towards the edge of the cliff.

"It's working." Richard said triumphantly, the car picking up speed as it neared the cliff's edge. Cassie watched silently until she noticed Brandon bring his head off the steering wheel and look around.

She grabbed Richard's arm and gripped it tightly, "Richard, he's awake."

Brandon froze when he saw how close he was to the edge of the cliff. He wasn't thinking and he wasted a few crucial seconds before he realized what was making the car move. But by the time he took the stick out, it was too late. Cassie and Richard heard him screaming as the car crashed at the bottom of the cliff. They went over to look at the damage. The remains of the car burst into flames, putting a stop to Brandon's pained cries for the last time.

"He was screaming." Cassie said breathlessly, "He saw the ground coming at him. He knew he was going to die." Cassie knew it was stupid to feel sorry for someone who had caused her so much pain but she imagined him down there after the fall, the fire slowly eating away at him and couldn't help the mild pangs of sympathy she felt. Richard and Cassie went over to the motorcycle Richard had driven over on and silently drove away from the scene.

  
  


She saw the blur of black speed away through the slits between the large pine trees. She didn't follow them, instead she kept driving, noticing the smoke rising from an area nearby. She finally reached her destination and got out of her car, not bothering to shut the door behind her.

She could smell burning flesh even from her spot on the top of the cliff. All she could make out were the remains of a small, brown car and a charred black arm sticking out of the driver's side. The smell and sight of it was making her nauseous, she was too late again. Once again she was too late to stop the depraved, narcissistic prick from hurting someone else. Her mouth formed a grim line as she rushed back to her car. There was nothing she could do for the man down there. She had to find Richard Hayward and put him behind bars once and for all. Before he destroyed anymore lives.

  
  


Nicole put on a pair of large hoop earings and smiled at her reflection in the mirror. She grabbed her jacket before leaving her bedroom and began walking down the stairs. Before she could leave the Kiriakas Mansion, she was stopped by Brady.

"Where are you going?" Brady demanded, "I hope you're not going out with that Jason guy again."

Nicole smirked at him, knowing the right words to say to make him even more pissed off than he already was, "Of course it's not Jason. There are way too many sexy motorcycle men in this town right now to just stay tied down to one. No, tonight it's Kaleb. He's got a sister, I think her name's Kari. Maybe I should set you up with her so that you'll leave me alone."

"I don't want Kaleb's sister." Brady spat out angrily, firmly holding onto her arm, "But I don't want you going out with him, okay? That Jason guy, he got you high. It's only a matter of time before one these guys makes you do something worse. You're making a big mistake."

Nicole glared at him, "It's nice to know you care. But Jason didn't force me into doing anything and Kaleb won't either. That's not the problem, is it, Brady? I think you're jealous." 

Brady's eyes darkened and his jaw clenched, "Fine, maybe I am a little jealous. So, can you please stay home, Nicole? I do care and I am worried about the way these guys are going to treat you."

Nicole felt her resolve weaken but then she thought about how angry Sami would be if she backed out of their plan, "You don't care that much. If you felt the way I wanted you to feel about me, then you wouldn't be dating Chloe anymore. You just want me to spend time with you because Chloe isn't around. Well, I'm really sorry but that isn't going to happen."

She stormed outside, leaving Brady to stare after her. After the motorcycle's taillights had completely disappeared, he slammed his fist against the wall angrily. He didn't know why Nicole going out with all these guys was making him so crazy. He just didn't want her to be with anyone if it wasn't him. He knew that wasn't fair but he couldn't help it. He could have either Chloe or Nicole, he couldn't have both of them. And since Nicole was gone for the night, he would use the time to think it over.


	10. I'm Not Gonna Beg You To Stay

Chapter Ten

  
  


It had been a late night for Nicole and by the time she left her bedroom, it was after twelve in the afternoon. She wandered downstairs and into the main room of the house, where she noticed Brady, talking on the phone with his back turned to Nicole. Nicole moved closer to him, wanting to make out what he was saying on the phone.

"No, Chloe, I'm not kidding." Brady was saying and hearing Chloe's name made Nicole even more alert, "No, there is nothing to talk about. It's over, okay? I'm sorry but I can't keep dating you long distance when I don't feel anything anymore. Good-bye, Chloe."

He slammed down the phone so hard it made Nicole jump. He turned around and saw her standing there.

"How much of that did you hear?" he asked in a low voice.

"Enough." Nicole looked at the floor, "Brady, did you break up with Chloe because of what I said last night? Does this mean that you don't want her, does it mean that you only want me?"

"Nicole......" Brady's voice trailed off, "Yes, that's what I think it means. Chloe was a great person but I understand you so much better and I know my feelings for you are more than just infatuation. I don't want to be with Chloe just because it's less complicated. I want to be with the woman that I really love. And I would do anything to keep you in my life."

"That was the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me." Nicole told him, giving him a big smile. Her smile slowly faded and she closed her eyes as his lips hovered above her own. The warm sensation when their lips finally made contact was amazing and she gave a little murmur of contentment and pressed her body closer to his. Before they could deepen the kiss any further, they heard Victor's enraged voice. He stood in the doorway, his eyes burning a hole into Nicole as he shook his head angrily.

"I warned you." he growled, stepping closer to her, "You just made a very big mistake. That's the last time you ever touch my grandson because I'm going to finish you off once and for all." he lunged and her and Nicole shrieked and dodged him. She had never seen him so angry.

Brady grabbed Nicole and pulled her out of Victor's reach, "I'm sorry, grandad. I know I broke my promise to you but I couldn't help it. Because the truth is, I'm in love with Nicole. And I hope she feels the same way as I do."

The intensity of Brady's gaze was enough to make Nicole forget Victor was in the room. One hand moved so that it rested on his chest, "Brady, you know I do. I have for a long time."

"Shut up!" Victor roared, trying to grab Nicole, "I am not going to let this happen. You will not destroy Brady's life the way you destroyed mine. I don't care if I have to rot in jail for murder, you are going to die, Nicole."

Brady stared at his grandfather in horror and disgust, "You..... monster!" he finished finally, "How dare you threaten her like that! I am not going to let you near her ever again. We are leaving the mansion." he pulled Nicole away and she fought down a triumphant smile when she passed her dumbstruck husband. It was obvious he had finally lost every ounce of self-control he had ever had.

"I can't believe I just did that." Brady shook his head in amazement, "What are we going to do now? Where are we supposed to go?"

Nicole remembered the phone call from a very excited Sami earlier that morning and grinned, "I think I have an idea."

  
  


Richard and Cassie returned to the motel they had been staying at and got off the motorcycle. Richard turned to Cassie, his face uncertain.

"Well, we finally did it." Richard tried to sound happy, "We took care of the Salem Stalker."

Cassie sighed tiredly, "I wish I had come back earlier. Maybe then we could have stopped him before he got the other victims. I can't believe that Roman and Tony are both gone. We should have stopped this sooner. Now I have no one. I'm not even speaking to my brother anymore."

Richard rubbed her shoulders soothingly, "Cassie, we didn't know who it was before. It wasn't in our power to stop Brandon. We could have ended up being victims if we had come back earlier." he felt Cassie shudder as he said those words, "You can't beat yourself up over something you couldn't stop from happening. You did everything you could do. And as for your brother, I think you should give him another chance."

"How can I do that after what he did?" Cassie cried angrily, "It was bad enough finding out that Tony had died. Knowing that he died alone without either one of his children around made it worse. Rex was horrible to betray our father!"

"I know it pisses you off. It would piss me off too. But what if you had been in town when Tony got put in jail for the killings? Would you have stayed loyal to him?" Richard questioned her.

Cassie's chin jutted out defiantly, "Yes. Nothing would have been able to change my mind. I never doubted my brother, not even when he went to jail for the murders and I wouldn't have doubted Tony either. Rex was just plain wrong, no matter how you look at it."

"People make mistakes. But if they try hard enough to redeem themselves, you should let it go. No one if perfect and I think if you really love your brother, you should forgive him and move on." Richard said, thinking of his own problems as he said those words.

Cassie sighed, "I don't know if I can." she began walking towards the motel, "Are you coming?"

Richard turned back towards the motorcycle, "I'll be there in a second." he ran his fingers over the surface of the bike aimlessly, wanting to be alone with his thoughts. He had never wanted to get serious about one girl but Cassie was different. The only problem was, he didn't know if she could look past all the awful things he had done back in his hometown and still accept him.

He was so engrossed in his thoughts, he didn't even hear the woman approach him from behind. He stifled a gasp when someone grabbed his arms and wrenched them painfully behind his back. He felt the cold metal of the handcuffs touch his wrists and barely resisted wincing as someone clamped them on as tightly as they could go.

"I finally caught up with you, Goldilocks." Richard went rigid with shock, realizing who it was, "You thought you could get away with it, didn't you? You thought you could escape justice. Well, you were very wrong. I put everything I had into finding you and it finally paid off." she smiled as she continued speaking, "Richard Hayward, you are under arrest for assisting in the murder of Olivia Lake, for the attempted murder of Justin Pendleton and the murder of..... that guy you made go over that cliff. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you-"

"Shut the hell up." Richard turned to stare at her defiantly, "Why did you work so hard to track me down? Why do you want me to go to prison so fucking badly?"

"Because you're a heartless bastard." her nails dug into his back as she spoke, "You would have kept killing, just like you did with that guy on the cliff. You think it's fun. You like doing it."

"You don't understand." Richard hissed, "He was a serial killer. He killed my girlfriend's biological dad and her surrogate dad. He needed to die. I was trying to do the right thing."

She snorted, "God, you're pathetic. I was married to a jackass like you at one point. He stabbed me with a butcher knife over and over and then left me to die. I know when you're lying. The only serial killer around here is you. You're probably the Salem Serial Killer. You kill for the hell of it, it gives you the rush of adrenaline you need to make you feel normal. I work for the police, I know these things. And your girlfriend? God, I pity that girl. She doesn't know what she's getting herself into. I heard all about your ex-girlfriend, Lisa. From Justin. About how she and Justin were interested in each other and you got her into bed with you and video-taped it. Then you gave the tape to Justin. I love the way you treat your girlfriends and your friends too."

"I had to get him away from Lisa." Richard told her in a hoarse voice, "Justin was my friend. He deserved better than a dirty blonde like her."

"You're the dirty blonde, Goldilocks, not Lisa." she gritted her teeth, "Now, I'm going to take you down to the station and-" Richard watched as Cassie brought the metal pipe into the side of the policewoman's face. Officer Mayweather collapsed on the ground and Cassie knelt over her, finding the keys to the handcuffs. Richard looked at her in surprise.

"You heard everything didn't you?" he asked, disappointed that Officer Mayweather had finally given him away. Cassie nodded, "I'm sorry, dollface. But if you let me explain-"

Cassie silenced him by kissing him softly on the lips, "You don't need to explain right now." she bit her lip nervously. He had never hurt her before but after everything she had learned in those few minutes, she wasn't sure if this was what she should be doing. But she looked into his piercing blue eyes and knew she had to give him the chance he needed. His eyes were troubled and held a glint of danger in them but he wasn't the cold-blooded killer this police officer thought he was. She knew him better than that, "I trust you." she freed him from the handcuffs and quickly put them on the policewoman's wrists.

"Good." Richard's eyes revealed how thankful he was that she was giving him this chance, "But I have to explain later. Right now, we have to get out of Salem as soon as possible."

"You're right." Cassie looked over at Officer Mayweather uncertainly, "But before we go, I have to see my brother. You were right, I have to let it go. It isn't fair to keep making him suffer for one mistake, even if it was a pretty damn stupid one."

Richard and Cassie hurried inside the motel, throwing their belongings into their bags. They would pack up, finish off whatever else they needed to do in Salem and then ride away, leaving Salem, Officer Mayweather and Brandon Walker's dead body behind them.


	11. But Soon You'll Be Finding

Chapter Eleven

  
  


"Shit, it's freezing." Sami muttered in a half-asleep voice, then sat up and stretched. When Lucas felt Sami's body roll off of his own body, he let out a little groan of protest. Sami looked down and recoiled, not expecting to find herself waking up right next to Lucas on a beach. Then she remembered what had happened the night before and smiled down and him. He sat up too and yawned.

"What time is it?" he asked her sleepily.

"I didn't bring a watch. I have no idea." Sami replied, standing up and looking down at her rumpled clothes in disgust, "Gross, I'm covered in sand."

Lucas got to his feet, still half-asleep. He had just slept on the beach with Sami. They had slept together. Not slept together, slept together. They slept..... on the beach. They didn't sleep together in the way he really wanted them to sleep together. They just fell asleep. Sami was still brushing sand off of her clothes.

"Let me help." he brought his hands up to wipe some sand off her shirt. She smiled gratefully at him and wiped some grains of sand out of his hair. After a few minutes of wiping sand off each other in silence, Lucas laced his fingers through hers and kissed her gently on the lips. He remembered something and pulled away.

"My mom is going to freak. I was supposed to go out to lunch with her today and she is going to flip out when she finds out that both of us are gone from our apartments." Lucas said and got onto the motorcycle. Sami smirked at the idea of Kate totally losing it because she didn't know where Lucas was. The drive back to Salem seemed extremely short and when they got into the parking lot, Kate was about ready to pull away from the building. When she saw Sami and Lucas, she stopped her car and got out, slamming the door angrily behind her.

"Where were you?" she demanded in a high-pitched voice, "Dear God, Lucas, do you know what you are getting yourself into?"

"Mom, calm the hell down." Lucas shot back, "You're making a big deal out of nothing."

"Nothing?" Kate screeched, finally looking over both Sami and Lucas, "You're covered in sand. What were you doing, rolling around on every beach within a hundred miles of Salem?"

"It isn't what you think." Sami told Kate, unable to keep the victorious grin off her face, "Although, I don't know why you're acting like this is such a bad thing. I guess you just can't stand to see your son happy."

"You whore!" Kate screamed in frustration.

Sami wrapped her arms around Lucas waist, "Only for Lucas." at that remark, even Lucas looked at her in shock. Kate's face turned white from shock and horror. There were a few minutes of awkward silence before Lucas and Kate finally found their voices.

"I know what you are doing." Kate told Sami through clenched teeth, "You are trying to ruin my son's life by pretending to have feelings for him. All you have ever wanted to do is hurt him and I won't let you do it."

"That's enough." Lucas spoke up, glaring at his mother, "Mom, I'm going to have to cancel our lunch date for today. I'll talk to you some other time." Kate opened her mouth to protest but the furious look on Lucas' face made her think better of it. She meekly got into her car and drove off. Sami turned to Lucas, a pleading look in her eyes.

"Lucas, what she said was not true. I am not trying to ruin you. I might have tried to hurt you a lot in the past but it's different now. You mean everything to me and I just want both of us to be happy. Together."

Lucas wrapped his arms around her and stroked her back, "I know. I think my mom didn't know how to take seeing us together and just said that without thinking. But I know you aren't pretending."

Sami sighed with relief at his words and raised her head to kiss him. They kissed each other until they heard Nicole.

"It's about damn time you two got back." Nicole and Brady climbed off their motorcycles, "We came here twice before and you weren't home. Sami, when you called me last night, you told me you were going to be spending some time with Lucas but I didn't know you two were that desperate." Sami blushed and looked away, "So we went and bought these great looking bikes while we were waiting for you. We used good old Victor's money to buy them."

Lucas shook his head in amazement, "What did you guys do?"

Nicole smiled proudly, "Maybe we should go into your apartment. It's sort of a long story and I think we should start from the beginning."

  
  


Rex and Mimi were putting away the dishes from their lunch when Cassie knocked on the door. Richard stood beside Cassie, squeezing her hand, giving her the support she needed. Rex finally answered the door and when he saw Cassie, he eyed both her and Richard warily, as if afraid of what they were going to say to him.

"Can we come in?" Cassie asked nervously and Rex merely nodded, opening the door wider to let them inside. Once inside, Rex sat down on one couch and Cassie and Richard sat across from him. Mimi piled the rest of the plates away in the cupboard and she joined them, going to sit down next to Rex.

"Rex, I wanted to apologize for being so hard on you about what happened with Tony." Cassie began, her voice shaking, "I know you didn't mean to hurt him. And if I keep being angry at you, then I'll be doing almost the same thing you did to Tony and that isn't fair. I forgive you because you're my twin brother and my best friend and I love you."

Rex smiled gratefully and went over to hug his sister, "Cassie, that means a lot to me. I am sorry for the way I treated Tony and if I could take it back, I would in a heartbeat."

"I know." Cassie whispered, "And I'm glad that we aren't fighting anymore. Because I have to ask you something very important.

"Go ahead." Rex gave her an encouraging smile.

Cassie took a deep breath, "Richard and I are sort of in trouble. Lucas knew who the Salem Serial Killer was and Richard and I got rid of him. It was Brandon Walker." Rex and Mimi's eyes widened when she told them who the killer was, "But this policewoman knows what happened and she doesn't believe that he was the killer. Richard and I have to leave Salem right away."

"What are you asking me, Cassie?" Rex asked, even though he knew what she was trying to say.

"I'm asking you if you will come with us." Cassie told him, "You're one of the people I'm closest to and I don't want to be separated from you again. You can use the money Tony left you with to buy a bike and it would be a lot of fun with you around. Please say you'll go with me."

Rex swallowed hard, looking from Mimi to Cassie. He didn't want to be separated from his sister again, especially after he had spent so long thinking she was dead. But how was he supposed to leave Mimi? She had been his family, his best friend, his everything ever since Cassie was gone. He couldn't abandon her. But he couldn't abandon Cassie either. He eyes shifted from Mimi to Cassie, wondering how he was supposed to answer Cassie's question.


	12. You Can Run, You Can Hide

Chapter Twelve

  
  


Rex had no idea what he was supposed to do. On one side, there was Cassie, his twin sister, the only person who had been there for him his entire life. And on the other side there was Mimi. He knew how deep his feelings for Mimi went and that there would never be another woman like her in his life. He sighed and ran one hand through his hair.

"I don't know." he said finally, "I don't want you to leave again, Cassie. But I can't leave Mimi, not after all the things she's helped me through. I have no idea what I'm going to do."

Cassie let out a small shriek of frustration, "Mimi always ruins everything. Just leave her behind, she can go screw up Shawn or Phillip's life."

"Excuse me?" Mimi glared at Cassie and grabbed Rex's hand protectively, "Why should Rex go anywhere with you? Now that you've finally managed to get a guy, you probably wouldn't pay any attention to Rex."

"No, I'm not you." Cassie shot back, "Because ever since you came into Rex's life, you've stolen all his attention and he hardly ever paid attention to me. You are not going to steal him from me again."

"I am still in the room, you know." Rex commented, "And it's my decision, not yours, Mimi, and not yours, Cassie."

Cassie and Mimi immediately looked like they regretted fighting, "Rex, I'm sorry. But you can't stay in Salem with her, it would ruin everything." Cassie cried, giving Mimi another dirty look.

"Mimi, what if you...... came with us?" Richard cut in, wondering why Rex or Cassie hadn't thought of it sooner. It would make everything a lot easier, although the idea of Mimi and Cassie having a catfight was a very interesting one. Maybe he should have waited it out a little longer but it was too late now.

"Me?" Mimi hands flew up to her face, "You want me to join your motorcycle gang? I-I- I don't know if I could do that, I mean-"

"What she means is, she's too much of a wimp." Cassie finished for her, smiling knowingly at Mimi, "You don't have the guts to come with us. You wouldn't even do it for Rex, no matter how much you say you love him."

Mimi felt her head beginning to pound. Cassie had a way of getting her so irritated, it gave her a migraine. She hated the idea of Cassie becoming her sister in law and she hoped that they would be able to start getting along better in case she and Rex ever decided to get married. And Mimi hated how Cassie thought she knew Mimi so well. Mimi was not a wimp, she was just as brave and as adventurous as Cassie. She would prove it.

"I'm all for it." Mimi told Richard, smiling at Rex, "Now you don't have to pick between Cassie and me. Although, it's really obvious who you would have picked in the end." Mimi smirked at Cassie, who stared at her in disbelief.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Cassie said hotly, "My brother would never have picked you over me. He would have wanted to have an adventure and leave you behind. Because you're boring."

Mimi ignored Cassie and turned back to Richard, "When do we have to leave?"

"As soon as possible." Richard answered, "You guys should pack up your stuff and get everything together right away. Cassie and I have to go talk to Lucas right now though. You can hurry and pack and then come with us."

"Okay." Mimi stood up and was about to head over to the loft she shared with Belle but Rex stopped her.

"You aren't going anywhere until you and Cassie make a truce." Rex said firmly, "I am sick of seeing the two most important people in my life fight all the time. And if we're going to be spending so much time around each other, I don't want it to be a war-zone."

Richard crossed his arms over his chest and waited to see what Cassie's reaction would be. He knew how Cassie felt about Mimi. He knew that Cassie didn't hate Mimi or anything like that, she just resented how much of her brother's time Mimi took up. Cassie seemed to think about it for a few minutes before sighing reluctantly.

"Fine." she extended her hand to Mimi, "Truce."

"Truce." Mimi repeated and Rex broke into a smile.

"Aw, look, they're best friends now." Richard snickered, receiving glares from Cassie and Mimi, "Cassie, you go help Mimi pack and I'll help Rex." 

Rex and Mimi finished packing in under twenty minutes and they joined Cassie and Richard to go over and see Lucas. He was at Sami's apartment, just as Richard had suspected. Richard opened the door and went inside without knocking. Brady and Nicole were still over and they looked up at Richard and Cassie in surprise.

"What are you doing here?" Sami demanded, "You can't just walk into my apartment without knocking."

Richard pretended Sami wasn't there as he turned to Lucas, "He's dead, Lucas. But we sort of got caught by this policewoman and we have to get out of here now."

"Isn't that convenient?" Nicole spoke up, "Brady and I were just telling Sami and Lucas how we wanted to come with you guys when you left Salem. We bought the bikes and our stuff is packed and everything."

Brady's forehead wrinkled in confusion, "Who's dead?"

Rex, Cassie and Mimi shifted uncomfortably, not wanting to be the ones to break the news, especially to Sami and Nicole. Richard didn't seem to have a problem with telling them though.

"The Salem Serial Killer was Brandon Walker." he began, "He would have killed Lucas if we hadn't killed him. We had to do it."

"We think he was covering for you, Nicole." Lucas added, the look on his face slightly accusing. Nicole's face crumpled and she began to cry.

"My brother was a killer. My brother is dead." she repeated the words over and over as Brady held onto her, rocking her back and forth. Sami, on the other hand, had gotten over Brandon and didn't feel that much pain. Instead she just felt anger.

"I hate him." Sami seethed, "I'm glad he's dead. He deserves to rot in hell after what he did to my daddy and my grandmother."

Nicole sniffled and tried to stop crying. She couldn't believe that her father and her brother had both turned out to be such awful people. She knew she wasn't the most wonderful person either but she had never stooped to their level. She had killed one man because she had panicked, feeling an uncontrollable need to get Colin Murphy out her life forever. But she hadn't brutally murdered seven people or raped anyone. She knew it was going to be hard to get over the fact her brother had been a serial killer but she was glad she would be leaving Salem soon. She wanted to put everything that had happened to her in Salem behind her.

Finally, Richard spoke again, "Does this mean that you're all coming? Because we really need to get out of here before turbo-bitch Mayweather comes after us again."

Lucas looked over at Sami, "I want to go with them. And I want you to come with me."

Sami looked uncertain, "Lucas, are you sure want me with you?"

"Yes." he answered without hesitation, lowering his voice so only she could hear it, "I love you so much. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, no matter what happens. Once we get out of Salem, we can elope. There's still months to go before Will gets out of school."

"I love you too. And I do want to go. I wanted to go with you before and I'm not going to make the same mistake twice. I am coming with you, Lucas."

Lucas grinned at her and looked up at Richard's impatient face, "We're going."

Lucas had never unpacked from the last trip so everyone was ready to leave except for Sami. Rex said he was going to go buy a motorcycle while Sami packed. Before Rex could leave, Richard stopped him.

"Before we go any further, I think we should all start over. I know some of us don't get along very well." his eyes flicked over to Sami when he said that, "And we're going to be stuck with each other for a long time."

Everyone murmured in agreement and Sami called a truce with Rex and Cassie. Richard and Sami decided to forget the conditions they had first met under. Rex and Lucas and Sami and Brady decided to try and get along better. Brady forgave Lucas for setting Nicole up with Jason, something he had been pretty mad about. That only left two people.

"That just leaves you and Nicole, Lucas." Richard prompted his friend, "I've heard all about the horrible history the two of you have but I think you can both get over it."

Nicole looked over at Lucas and realized only then how horrible it must have been to find out he had been married to someone who had never loved or respected him. For the first time, she felt actual remorse about what she had put him through.

"Lucas, I'm sorry." Nicole stared at the ground, "I was wrong and I hope you can forgive me for what I did someday."

Lucas was silent for a few minutes and Nicole was afraid he wasn't going to accept her apology, "I forgive you." he said finally, not entirely meaning it. He just wanted to start talking about something else before people started asking exactly what Nicole was apologizing for.

Rex left and Sami went into her bedroom to pack. As she was packing, Nicole turned on her television. She stared in shock at the news anchorwoman.

"Richard, I think we're in trouble. They're already offering a cash reward for someone to turn you in. They've blocked off all the exits to Salem. I don't know how the hell we're supposed to get out of here without you getting arrested."

Richard's mind was racing. He had come too far to end up in jail now. He couldn't let Officer Mayweather put him in prison, he couldn't. He had to think of some way to get out of Salem without getting caught. But no matter how hard he tried, there wasn't a single plan he could come up with that would actually work.


	13. But You Can't Escape My Love

Chapter Thirteen

  
  


Brady groaned loudly and shifted uncomfortably in the back of Bart's truck. He, Nicole, Richard, Cassie, Lucas, Sami, Rex and Mimi had all been stuck in the back of the truck with their motorcycles for the past three days. Cassie had found Bart and he had promised to sneak them down to Canada in his truck.

"I can't believe I've been stuck in a truck for the last three days." Brady grumbled, "I can't wait to get out of this truck for good."

"We have not been in the back of the truck the whole time. Bart lets us out to go to the bathroom and take showers and everything. But you're right, I feel like a caged animal in here." Mimi spoke up, pulling her sweater closer to her body. On top of being a little bit dirty and smelling like motorcycle oil, the truck was really cold.

Richard and Cassie ignored Brady and Mimi's whining and continued talking quietly to each other. Richard finished explaining everything that had happened back in his hometown with Justin. Once he stopped talking, he waited for Cassie to reply. She hadn't spoken the entire time he had been telling her the story.

"I don't know what to say." Cassie shook her head in amazement, "I knew you that some weird things happened to you before but I had no idea that you went this far."

"I made a lot of mistakes." Richard admitted, looking at the ground, "That's why I had to leave. I was afraid of spending all that time in prison when I wasn't even the one who killed that woman. Officer Mayweather seemed to want to believe I did it. She's always hated me."

"Everyone makes mistakes. I've made plenty of my own. Did I ever tell you how I got put in jail for prostitution once?" Cassie asked him and his eyes widened.

"Wow, that was unexpected." Richard said finally, "Were you really-"

"Of course not. I was sick of being rejected by this guy named Shawn so I did something really stupid. The next thing I knew, I was behind bars." Cassie rolled her eyes, "My own biological father put me in jail for a crime I didn't commit. It was pretty messed up."

"So you don't hate me?" Richard questioned her nervously.

"No." Cassie whispered, looking up at him hopefully, "Richard, back in Salem with Officer Mayweather, you said I was your girlfriend. I know we never made any commitments to each other but did you mean that?"

Richard nodded, "I tried getting serious about one other girl before. Her name was Lisa. But it didn't work because I know I never really loved her. After everything my parents put me through, I thought I wasn't able to love anyone. Then we became friends and you changed that. I ended up falling in love with you but I didn't know how to tell you because I didn't know how you would react to all the horrible things I had done. But I think we can work past that and I do want to be with you."

Cassie smiled, "I have waited so long to hear you say that. I guess this means we're together now."

Richard wrapped his arm around her shoulders, "Yeah. I just hope that we don't ever have another run-in with Officer Mayweather again."

Cassie suddenly began laughing and everyone in the back of the truck turned to look at her, "What's so funny?" Richard demanded.

"I just remembered." Cassie said through her laughter, "That policewoman called you Goldilocks. Goldilocks." she began laughing even harder and soon everyone in the truck was laughing, with the exception of Richard.

"There has to be some reason she calls you that." Lucas remarked after he had stopped laughing, "What happened between you and that woman, Richard?"

Richard scowled, "Absolutely nothing. Remember how I told you that I always ended up getting what I wanted. Well, there was one time when I didn't. I tried to seduce Officer Mayweather and then she...... slammed her car door into my face.

Sami, Nicole and Cassie were laughing so hard they were practically in tears, "You tried to have sex with a cop? Why?" Nicole asked incredulously, "Was she that attractive?"

"No, she wasn't." Richard glared at Nicole, "I didn't want her for that reason. I just thought if I slept with her, maybe she would leave me alone."

"What planet are you from?" Sami was giggling hysterically, "You think that having sex with someone is going to get them to leave you alone? Didn't your mother teach you how to treat women properly?"

"My mother walked out on me and my dad when I was a little kid." Richard said and everyone quieted down, "I don't remember her that well but I sort of remember what she looked like. That's why I sort of picked a fight with your mom, Cassie. Because she reminded me so much of my mom."

"Maybe she is your mom." Sami suggested, "Kate Roberts already has more children than she knows what to do with. One more certainly wouldn't hurt her."

"Sami," Lucas growled, "There's a punishment for insulting my mom." he leaned over and kissed her firmly on the lips. When they pulled apart, Sami smiled up at him.

"Remind me to insult your mom more often." Sami told him.

Cassie covered her face in her hands, "Kate had better not be his mother. I do not want to go through that again!"

"Go through what again?" Brady asked and Cassie looked away, her face quickly turning red. Rex and Mimi avoided looking at each other, Richard was smirking at Cassie and Lucas was giving Cassie dirty looks for what she had just said.

"Is someone going to fill us in on what Cassie meant by that?" Nicole demanded, looking around at everyone. The only ones who seemed confused besides her were Sami and Brady.

"We shouldn't keep secrets from each other." Richard mockingly chided Cassie, then looked over at Sami and Nicole, "Lucas and Cassie were in a bed at a hotel, completely undressed and were about ready to start going at it when Rex and Mimi walked in and stopped them. Right after that, Cassie found out he was her half-brother."

Lucas squirmed uncomfortably as Sami and Nicole started laughing again. Brady just looked disgusted, "No wonder you looked so grossed out when I told you Cassie and Rex were your mom's kids. I knew there had to be something you weren't telling me." Sami laughed.

Lucas glowered at Richard, "Since we aren't keeping secrets here, you all should know that Richard video-tapes himself having sex with girls."

"That's not all." Cassie was also glaring at Richard, "He was in love....... with a guy!"

"I was not!" Richard shot back, "I explained that he was just a really good friend and I only kept him away from Lisa because he was too good for her. Besides, I have so much shit I could say about you, so you had better be quiet." he turned to Lucas, "Both of you."

"Let's change the subject now." Mimi spoke up, "So, Lucas and Sami are eloping. Where do you think they should go when they get married?"

"We should go across the Capillano Suspension Bridge in Vancouver again." Richard said, grinning wickedly at Cassie.

Cassie groaned, "Oh, God, not again. The last time we walked across that thing, Lucas and Richard were making the bridge shake and they scared half of the people on the bridge to death."

Nicole raised an eyebrow, "Richard and Lucas were making the bridge shake? Wow, Cassie told us Richard was in love with a guy but I never imagined it would be Lucas or that Lucas would return his feelings. But why did you have to 'make the bridge shake' in public? No wonder you were scaring everyone."

Mimi bit her lip to keep from laughing, "Oh, man, that's enough to put some really bad pictures in your head."

"Nicole, that was wrong." Lucas looked at her in disgust, "How you can even suggest something like that is beyond me. You must have a very dirty mind."

"Actually, I was kind of thinking the same thing when Cassie said that." Rex told them.

Cassie sighed in exasperation, "I didn't mean it like that. I meant that they were shaking the bridge, that's all."

"And how were they making the bridge shake?" Brady inquired, smirking at Lucas and Richard, who still looked sickened by Nicole's insinuations.

"We got around the middle of the bridge and they started moving back and forth, you know, making it move." Cassie explained, "They were being jerks. Nina had just told us she was afraid of heights and once they started making it shake, she started screaming and nearly gave me hearing damage."

"I still can't believe you guys just left Nina and Jason and everyone else in the motorcycle gang back in Salem." Nicole said.

"They'll live." Richard replied, "Besides, having Carla and Jason around all the time wouldn't work out so well for you two sets of lovebirds, now would it?" he nodded at Brady and Nicole and Lucas and Sami.

Everyone eventually lapsed into silence. Lucas and Sami were curled up in one corner of the truck, oblivious to anyone else in the truck. Lucas ran his fingers through her long blonde hair in an almost dream-like state. He still couldn't believe that they had come so far and that they were here together. She let out a shaky sigh when he then ran his fingers down the curve of her left breast. She squeezed his hand and looked up at him happily.

"I wonder what Will is doing right now." she whispered.

"I hope he's as happy as we are." Lucas responded, "Once we get married, we'll send him a letter and some pictures. He's going to be so excited when he finds out."

"Why don't we wait until we see him again to tell him we're married?" Sami suggested, "Then we'll spend the entire summer with him as a family." she smiled after she said that and buried her head deeper into Lucas' chest, "Just the three of us."

Lucas rested his chin on the top of Sami's head and tightened his grip around her waist, "There's nothing that could make me happier." he told her.

As Bart continued to drive them further away from Salem and closer to Vancouver, Lucas wondered what was in store for himself and Sami in Canada. All he knew was that as long as she was there, there was nothing ahead of them that could possibly be less than perfection.


End file.
